Seafloor sampling (macrofauna, epifauna, macroalgae, sediments, video footage and still photographs) of the north western Ross Sea area including Cape Hallett, Cape Adare, Coulman Island and Cape Russell

Abstract:
As part of the Italian led Victoria Land Transect (VLT) project voyage on board the RV Italica, diver based surveys of the structural and functional diversity of the shallow water benthic communities was conducted in the north western Ross Sea. SCUBA diving was conducted in shallow (<30m) coastal areas. During these dives, collections of macrofauna, epifauna, macroalgae and sediments were made, ... along with video footage and still photographs. In deeper waters (100- 500m deep) remote video sampling, imagery of the seafloor and traditional grab and dredge samples were taken. Grab and dredge sampling was conducted along predetermined transects, each aligned along a 100- 500 m depth gradient located at Cape Hallett, Cape Adare, Coulman Island and Cape Russell. Grab and dredge samples were subsampled for macrofauna, epigauna, macroalgae and sediment characteristics along this depth range. Video images from 100-150m depth were collected to enable some characterisation of seafloor habitats and wpifaunal community dominants.